Fire-escape



(nominaal.) l

C. H. WILBER 8u C. E. LAVERY.

lFIRE ESCAPE.- No. 538,398. V Patented Apr. 30.11895.

of JW' 8X y UNITED STATES PATENT @EET-CE;

CALVIN H. WILBER AND CHARLES E. LAVERY, OF NEWTONS CORNERS,

' NEW YORK.

FI RE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 588,398, dated April 30,1895.

Application tiled March 11, 1895. Seal No. 541,258. (No model.)v

T0 all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that we,'OALvIN H. WILBER and CHARLES E. LAVERY, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Newtons Corners, inthe county ofHamilton, State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Fire-Escapes; and we do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact. description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

Our invention relates to improvements inl fire escapes.

The invention will first be described in connection with theaccompanying drawings, and then particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, VFigure l is a perspective view of a device embodyingour invention. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view illustrating the seat, thefolded position of the same being shown in dot-ted lines. Fig. 3illustrates the friction and guiding device detached. Fig. 4 is a detailView showing a mgdilied form of the spreader. t

Referring to the drawings A, A are two blocks or pulleys of ordinaryconstruction and made of iron. The block A is provided with a securingdevice a by means of which the block may loe-fastened to any suitablesupport or hanger, the securing device in this case consisting of aniron ring, as shown. A chain B is attached to the securing device orring ct by a snap-hook b and is reeved over the blocks or pulleys A, A',as shown, the fall b being of such length as to reach to the ground whenthe escape is lowered.

The block A is provided with an eye a2 through which passes a centralupward-extending loop c formed integral with a spreader C, having ateach end diverging arms c provided at their free extremities with eyesc2 to which are secured, by means of S-hooks c3, four depending chainsc4, attached at their lower ends to a seat D, composed of two portionsd, d hinged together on their under sides in order that they may falltogether downward. A safetychain E connects the depending chains 04 soas to form a railing around the seat on three sides, while the fourthside is arranged to be closed by a removable front or belt chain F. Uponthe fall b is threaded a friction and guide device consisting'in thiscase of a short tube' G made from leather or rubber and having a hole,g, for the insertion of a snap-hook g which is permanently secured bymeans of an` eye to one of the S-hooks c3.

The operation of our device is as follows:

A person desiring to escape from a burning building may place himselfupon the seat D, 6o the seat of course being opened. The person soescaping after fastening the belt chain F in place may lower himself tothe ground by grasping the friction device G and swinging `off from thebuilding, allowing the fall b of the tackle to run through the tube G asslowly or as rapidly as desired, the rate of speed being determined bythe friction on the chain,which of course depends upon the amount ofpressure put upon the leather or other tube G by 7o the hand. In casethe fall b is manipulated by some one standing upon the ground, as whenwomen or children are being rescued from a building, the tube G isfastened to the snap-hook g and then serves'as a guide for 75 the fallZJ', whereby the person on the ground operating the device, by holdingthe end of the fall away from the building may guide the seat D so thatit will descend atan angle in- /stead of in a vertical line, whereby incase of 8o a fire breaking out in the lower windows the person occupyingthe seat D will not be burned. Furthermore, the tube G may be employedin the same manner as a guide when the seat is being again hoisted tothe upper stories of abuilding by a person onthe ground,

in order to prevent the seat from dangling against the building or thetackle from being twisted.

The entire device may be suspended from a 9o bracket in a box securedtothe wall of a building above the window, either inside or outside thewall, the latter being preferable, and the box may be provided with adownward-swinging bottom secured by a latch, so that when 9 5 the latchis unfastened the bottom will swing down and the seat may be loweredfrom the box until opposite the window. Since the bottom seat D may befolded, the whole device may be packed in a small space and is rcoeasily transported from place to place.

In Fig. 4 we have shown a modified form of our device in which thespreader C has a central portion c6 to which the arms c are pivoted, sothat they may be folded together as shown, the said arms c at theirpivoted ends having stops c7 to prevent lateral displacement when inoperation. To one of the arms c on each end of the spreader, and nearthe end is pivoted a brace rod c5 designed to connect with the oppositearm and to be secured in place by a thumb nut c8 entering a screwthreaded hole therein, for the purpose of keeping the said ends in theoperative position.

Having thus fully described our invention, what We claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a fire escape the combination, with a pair of iron blocks, a chaintackle and a spreader carried by the traveling block, aseres ofdepending chains, a series of S-hooks connecting said chains to thespreader, and a seat secured to the depending chains, of a tube offlexible material through which the fall of the tackle passes, and meansfor removably securing said tube to one of the S-hooks, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a fire escape the combination, With a pair ot' iron blocks, achain tackle and a spreader carried by the traveling block, of a seriesof depending chains attached to the spreader, aseat carried by saidchains, a exible tube through which the fall of the tackle passes, saidtube having a hole at one end, and a snap hook secured to one of thespreader arms, and arranged to engage the holein the flexible tube,substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a fire escape, a spreader device com posed of a central portion,to which are hinged arms adapted to be folded together, said arms beingheld apart in their operative position by brace rods, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof We aEtix our signatures in presence ot' twoWitnesses.

CALVIN H. WILBER. CHARLES E. LAVERY.

Witnesses:

A. W. TERRY, GEO. E. TERRY.

